MOBrien Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 OK, here's the story of Katie's first dollhouse. Santa brought this last year and Dad (me) started on it on New Years Day. I worked on it everyday for a minimum of 4 hours a day, with a day or two off here and there while waiting for supplies (or for my sanity to return). Actually, it was so much fun to do this. Once I worked out the electrical aspects of the kit, it was smooth sailing. Katie insisted on the color scheme from the box art. This was good because I couldn't even begin to try and design a color pallet for a Victorian house. I finished toward the end of April of this year and then the house was promptly furnished that very same day.The house is wired with 15 lights. Two didn't survive the end of the build, though. One just didn't work and the other one's wires broke off right at the ceiling. Oh well. There's plenty of other lights to make up for the lost ones. I might consider battery powered lights to replace the bad ones.Most of the added details came from Hobby Lobby, with a few from RGT and miniatures.com.I love the weather vane on the peak of the tower. When I saw that, I just knew that it had to be put on the house. I'll post some more photos as the opportunity arises. The interior has had a few furniture upgrades since these photos were taken.Enjoy ...... Matt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Four months? Wowzas, that's fast! I hadn't realized how much like the Dura-Craft San Franciscan this house is, and mine took me 3 1/2 years! (of course, I was attending Nursing School full time to get my RN in two years) Looks to me like a little girl's daddy is a big time hero! BTW, you have enough posts to open an album in the gallery... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Katie is one lucky little girl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacey6163 Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Very nice ! Tell Katie I love the colors she picked out. And the weather vane is awesome !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOBrien Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 Thank you very much. You see, I'm used to doing plastic models which take very little time to complete, so 4 months seemed like a long time to build from a kit. But... I work nights so after dropping folks off at school, I had plenty of time to concentrate on the build. Plus I wanted to get it finished for her. She had been stock-piling furniture so I knew she was rarin' to go with her new doll house. I can't even imagine trying to build something like this while going to school. Between actual classroom time and then homework, not to mention job, kids, life, oh yeah...and sleep, I think completing ANY kind of project would be a feat in itself. Been there, done that.....Never again! and that was before Katie came into our lives. I definitely noticed the similarity to the San Franciscan... they almost seem to be from the same plan. Katie is definitely her daddy's girl. Nothing I wouldn't do for her......um, within reason. I kid myself in thinking that I'm not spoiling her. OK... a couple more "Point of View" shots. I need to sit down when I have some time and create an album. I look forward to that. http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o528/mobrien66/IMAG1744_zps94568d63.jpg The top bedroom.... http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o528/mobrien66/IMAG1742_zps7052ad13.jpg And looking from the kitchen into the living room. My favorite shot. Enjoy...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 What a gorgeous house! Katie's lucky to have such a devoted dad. I like the kitchen-to-living-room shot, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie2 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 What a beautiful house! The colors are outstanding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GirlPiper Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Love all of it. Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I didn't think about a spiral stair in the tower! I'm assuming it goes through from floor to floor... The dollhouse in the dollhouse is a nice touch. The dog growling at the tiger's a cute touch, too. Are all the family out Christmas shopping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraftyMtnMom Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Awesome house! I want to add lights to the ones I do, but I am not an electrician (lol). Very nice work! One very lucky little girl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liamlunchtray Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 I just hit the 1 year mark on our Painted Lady and I'm only now closing in on the exterior. Your's looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintagegirl Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Beautiful! I wish I could have done my dollhouse with my dad... it never occurred to me when he was doing plastic models with my little brother that a dollhouse would be an incredible project for him. Oh well. I'm sure I'll be asking him for advice and to borrow tools so I guess that's second best. I'm a daddy's girl too. She will treasure that house and the gift of your time for many years to come! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creamcheese Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 WOW! Katie is such a lucky little girl to have a wonderful Dad! What a treasure for her for years to come. You certainly built this amazingly fast for a very special daughter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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